


A Fireman's Cliche

by MaskofCognito



Series: Alternative Nano Challenge [15]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternative Nano Challenge, Fluff, M/M, Meet-Cute, One Shot, Short
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-15
Updated: 2019-11-15
Packaged: 2021-01-31 16:03:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21448900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaskofCognito/pseuds/MaskofCognito
Summary: Maddie leaves town and asks Buck to watch her cat. Nimbles, said cat, escapes and when Buck finds him, he meets a model-good looking Eddie.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz
Series: Alternative Nano Challenge [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1534499
Comments: 8
Kudos: 168





	A Fireman's Cliche

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: Loss  
Had to find a way to fluff this up. I was not ready for a sorrow fic.

Mads should have never let him cat sit for her. She bought a kitten two years ago after her ex passed away in a car accident (and good fucking riddance, the abusive shit). Since then, she met Chimney at the 118 where Buck works and they decided on a vacation get-away.

That left Buck to cat sit. But Nimbles was an escape artist extraordinaire. Maddie had warned him, but Buck had brushed it off. Nimbles was only a cat. So long as he made sure to close the door behind him all should be fine. 

Buck had woken up on the couch after passing out watching some series on Netflix. The sliding patio door was open about six inches. Buck cursed and searched the house, looking for an intruder before it dawned on him that Nimbles existed and he was in Maddie’s house to look after him.

“Fuck!” He raced through the house trying to find him, but he knew Nimbles was no longer in the house. He called Bobby while opening the patio door to look in the small backyard. If he was lucky, the little bastard would just be sunbathing on the lawn. 

“Buck. How’s your day off?” Bobby answered as Buck assessed that— indeed— he wasn’t so lucky. 

“Hey, Bobby. I know that this is going to sound really cliche, but I need a level head to help me out right now. Maddie and Chim are out for the week and somehow on the first day, I lost Nimbles. I just took a nap. When I woke up, the patio door was open. I don’t even know how that happened.” He was pacing back and forth just inside the door. “What do I do?”

Bobby laughed in his ear. “Nothing like a firefighter finding a kitten in a tree.”

“Cliche, I told you,” Buck rolled his eyes.

“Okay. When you are no longer panicking, I’m sure you’ll get a few more ideas. But first off, maybe place a saucer or two down just inside the house. Milk, tuna, anything that cats like to eat. Keep the patio door just slightly ajar so that while you’re looking, if he comes back, he’ll have a way to get in. He’s more likely to enjoy staying inside the house if it's his option to stay or go.”

“Okay, yeah. That makes sense. I can do that.” Buck found a can of tuna and placed milk and tuna just inside the house while they were talking.

“Good. Now go look for him. Come back and check after about thirty minutes and then go back out. If it takes longer than a few hours, it might be more beneficial to make flyers.” 

Buck nodded, though Bobby couldn’t see him. “Okay. Gotcha. Hey, thanks, Bobby.”

“No problem, Buck. Let me know if you find him, okay? And when you do, might want to look into getting a lock bar or seeing if Maddie has a stick or something around she puts between the sliding portion of the door.”

“Bobby, are you saying the cat opened the door?” Buck asked seriously.

“I’m saying cats are smart, and if he’s known for escaping, it’s likely he knows how to open things, including doors.”

Buck’s eyes widened in fear. “How the fuck?”

“Look for something to block the door from opening, Buck. But before that, find your sister’s cat.”

Buck nodded and finished his call before grabbing his keys and leaving the house to walk around the block. He jogged here and there while calling out Nimbles’ name and “here, kitty kitty kitty!” He was also kissing the air and clicking his tongue. 

A black SUV pulled in a driveway ahead of him, blocking his path. A very attractive man got out and opened his back passenger door, helping out a kid with glasses and hand crutches. They were smiling at each other and Buck tried to ignore them in favor of searching for Nimbles. 

He heard meowing coming from a nearby tree and Buck swung his head around after passing the house with the SUV.

“Nimbles? Nimbles!” The meowing continued and Buck walked up to a tree on the other man’s lawn. There, he saw his sister’s cat crying for help after getting himself up high and unable or unwilling to get down. “You stupid cat. What are you doing in a place you can’t get down?”

“That your cat?” The man from earlier sidled up next to him to get a better look, the kid at his side.

“His name is Nimbles?” The kid asked.

“Yeah. It’s my sister’s cat. I’m supposed to be pet-sitting while she’s out on vacation with her boyfriend. She told me he likes to get out of the house a lot, but she never told me he knew how to unlock and open the patio door.” Buck said while looking at Nimbles.

“Well, I have a ladder in my garage.”

Buck looked at the man, a feeling of thankfulness and attraction settling comfortably over him. “That would be great. Thanks.”

“No problem,” he said, offering his hand. “My name’s Eddie and my son here is Christopher.” Eddie pats Christopher’s shoulder with his free hand.

“Buck,” he shakes Eddie’s hand.

“Okay, hold on just a sec. Let me get my ladder.” 

Eddie walked away and Buck tore his eyes from his ass. He probably had a wife if he had a kid. Eddie walked back just as Buck was chuckling to himself.

“What’s so funny?” Eddie asked.

“Ah, nothing. Just laughing that a firefighter is about to rescue a cat from a tree. Very children’s book-esque.”

Eddie didn’t say anything while he set up the ladder. Nimbles spooked and meowed his displeasure at the metal contraption being so near him. He looked back at Buck. “Do I know you from somewhere or something?”

Buck looked back at Eddie, studying his face for a moment. “No, I don’t think so.”

“Then how do you know I’m a firefighter?”

Buck gawked at Eddie. “You’re a firefighter, too?”

“Too?”

“Yeah, I’m in the 118,” Buck answered.

“Ah, well, I just moved here from Texas. I work in the 133.”

Buck threw his head back and laughed, smile bright. “I can’t believe this. Not just one, but two firefighters.”

Eddie’s smile matched Buck’s. 

Buck climbed the ladder, tucked Nimbles beneath one arm, and made his descent. “Thanks, Eddie. I uh,” he lifts his arm just a bit and repositioned Nimbles while gesturing toward him, “need to take this home and make sure he can’t get back out.”

Eddie laughed and Buck felt pangs shoot through his heart. His face fell as he wondered if this would be the last he saw of Eddie, whether they were both firefighters or not.

He started to walk away when Eddie called him back, “Hey, Buck. If you’re only in the area to pet-sit and have nothing else to do tonight, Christopher and I would love to host you for dinner. I’m making spaghetti tonight and I promise the Garlic bread will only be slightly burnt.”

Buck’s face lit up. “Yeah. Yeah, I’d like that.”

Eddie smiled back, he was quite the looker— could be a model if he wanted. “Well, you know where we live,” he said as he folded his ladder and started toward his garage.

Buck let his brain run through how he could make a move with Christopher around. He wanted to let Eddie know that he swung both ways and was quite interested in Eddie if he was keen. With his head in the clouds, Buck forgot to put a bar between the patio doors and to text Bobby that he found Nimbles. He headed out the door after closing and locking the patio and setting Nimbles on the floor. Buck was grinning the entire way over.

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't want to write for Nano and commit to 50k when I know that a) I'm not great at long story commitments, and b) my life is a bit busy. However, I didn't want to NOT write this month. So, I decided to commit to a prompt a day for the month of November of whichever fandom I enjoy which gives the prompt the most spark. I'm using [this](https://n7month.tumblr.com/post/188450175349/n7-month-challenge) prompt list I found from tumblr, in case anyone wants to reference it or join in.


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